USA > New York > Famous families of New York; historical and biographical sketches of families which in successive generations have been identified with the development of the nation, Vol. I > Part 5
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He had the courage of his convictions, and frequently got into danger by his denunciation of "both houses." Yet his strong common sense and goodness of heart kept alive the affection of his neighbors, and when the war was over he was one of the first who was sent to the State Assembly, serving in that body during the years 1788, 1789, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1798, and 1799. He married Abigail B. Hicks, by whom he had nine children, the sons being Whitehead II., Charles, George, Jacob, Thomas, and William.
In this generation there was a change in the family character. Before this time they had been farmers and landed proprietors, not alone upon Long Island, but also in Westchester County, N. Y., Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. They now began to turn toward the professions, mercantile life, and to invention and discovery. Thomas, son of Whitehead, was noted for his mechanical skill, and made many improvements Thomas in farming and other fields of industry. What is the Inventor more, he transmitted his genius to his six sons, all of whom in after years became celebrated for their mechanical ability. John, cousin of Thomas, was a wealthy New York John merchant in the early part of the nineteenth century. the Merchant
The seventh generation was numerous, and took an enviable place in the public eye. The greatest of all was Ezra [1807], of the Westchester branch. His education was that of Ezra,
the public schools, but his patience and talent made Philanthropist him one of the great scholars of the country. He settled, when a young man, in Ithaca, N. Y., where he began life's labor as a mill manager. His first noted achievement was the designing and construction of a tunnel, at Fall Creek, N. Y., for the utilization of water-power, it being the first of its kind in the United States. Shortly after this, he became associated with Morse, the elec- trician, and was soon an expert in what was then a virgin field of enterprise. He superintended the erection of the first telegraph line, which was between Washington and Baltimore [1844]. Its success brought him hundreds of orders, and the new business which he had begun under the most discouraging auspices rapidly
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brought him a great fortune. With a number of friends and business acquaintances he founded the Western Union Telegraph Company, and for twenty years was one of its directors. He was liberal and progressive in his policy, and was largely instrumental in making that corporation the vast power it subsequently be- came. His life was intensely active.
Beside keeping in touch with the rapid development of elec- trical science and industry, he was at the head of political and agricultural movements. His statesmanship was shown by his record as Assemblyman in 1862-1863, and as State Senator in 1864-1868. His monument is Cornell University, which ex- pressed his conception of the highest type of an educational establishment. This, according to his own words, should be "an institution where any person can find instruction in any study." The growth of this famous school is memorable. Founded in 1868, it has now 3000 students, a library of 250,000 volumes, productive funds of about $7,000,000, and an annual income of over $800,000.
John Black [1825], who was a talented inventor, became an iron founder in this city, and started, with his brother George, a John Black, business which grew into the largest of its class in the Inventor world. Into it he took as a partner his brother Wil- liam W. [1823]. The union was eventful, the creative genius of the younger being aided and supplemented by the business abil- William W., ity and executive talent of the seniors. The improve-
Manufacturer ments and inventions devised by this firm, and the novel conceptions in building, fireproofing, and decorating which they introduced, marked a new era in the history of architecture. Builders were quick to perceive the advantages of the inventions and to apply them to the large edifices of the metropolis and thereafter of the country, and even foreign lands. The first fire- proof buildings erected in the New World were upon the plans first formulated by the Cornells, and the matchless structures of to-day, ranging from church domes to sky-scrapers, are the out- growth of their contributions to the builder's art. William W. accumulated vast wealth, of which he gave with munificent hand
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to churches, charities, and reformatories. The public gift by which he will be longest remembered, is Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Ia., which he founded in 1857. To-day it has seven hundred students, a library of twenty thousand volumes, and an income of $35,000 a year.
John Black was noted for his public spirit and benevolence. He was a generous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a fearless abolitionist, and a leader in the cause of temperance. The latter part of his life he gave most of his time and much of his wealth to educational, religious, and philanthropic enterprises. He was a member or trustee of a score of organizations con- nected with his denomination. Among other services rendered, he was President for fourteen years of the New York City Church Extension and Missionary Society and President of the Board of Trustees of the Drew Theological Seminary.
Isaac Russell [1805], son of John and Sarah Cortilyou of Brooklyn, was a merchant and landed proprietor. He was so- cially prominent in New York in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Another great man of this generation was Dr. William Mason [1802], the physician. He was graduated from Brown [1827], studied theology, and was ordained [1830], and occu- Dr. William pied a pulpit until 1839. His health failing, he took Mason, the up the study of medicine, was graduated [1844] from Scholar the Berkshire Medical School, and began active practice at Bos- ton. On account of his skill and fame, he received an offer of the chair of anatomy and physiology in the Western University, which he accepted. He is best known by his publication, The Journal of Health, and to the profession by his scholarly work, The Medical Dictionary.
The eighth generation produced many celebrated characters. The foremost, politically, was Alonzo B. (1832), son of Ezra. He began life as a telegraph operator and electrician, from Governor which he went into finance and politics. He held Alonzo B. numerous positions of honor, being Supervisor, nominee for Lieu- tenant-Governor, member of the Assembly (1873), Chairman of
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the Republican State Committee, Naval Officer for the Port of New York, and Governor of the State of New York. His guber- natorial administration won him the love and esteem of all, ex- cepting professional spoilsmen and politicians. He cut out the sinecures, made numberless economies, vetoed all questionable appropriation bills, recommended the creation of a State Board of Health and a State Railroad Commission, and urged the eligibility of women for school officers, the establishment of a reformatory for women, and a common-sense modification of the usury laws.
John Henry [1828] was the musician of his race. His talents were appreciated in his youth, and, when a young man, he was John Henry, made organist of St. John's Chapel, New York. The Composer following year he went abroad and pursued his studies in the cathedral cities. From 1868 to 1877 he was the organist of St. Paul's Chapel, New York, and from 1877 to 1882 of the Brick Church, New York. He wrote six standard works on music, and many compositions for ecclesiastical use.
The Reverend John [1839], son of Isaac Russell, was gradu- ated from Princeton (1859), where he received the degree of Rev. John, M.A. (1862). He entered the General Theological
Evangelist Seminary, and was graduated and ordained in 1863. The larger part of his life was spent in foreign travel and resi- dence, in which he performed much efficient missionary work. For nearly eighteen years he was rector of the American Epis- copal Church at Nice, France. He married Margaret Katharine Osterburg. The Reverend Doctor owns the old estate of his first ancestor at Portsmouth, R. I.
John M. [1846], son of John Black, was educated at Mount Washington Collegiate Institute. He learned the working of iron John M., and steel in his father's establishment, and shortly after Philanthropist was taken into the concern as a partner. He is now the sole head, and owner of the house. He is very prominent in philanthropic, educational, and social affairs.
Dr. Edward Other members of distinction in this generation are : Everett Doctor Edward Everett, of the Cornwall branch, who was graduated from Wesley (1887), and from the College of Phy-
Robert C. Cornell From a steel engraving
Governor Alonzo B. Cornell From a steel engraving
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sicians and Surgeons (Columbia, 1890); Doctor James Lefferts, who was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia, 1890), and who was a surgeon in St. Mary's Hospital, Brooklyn; George Birdsall, who was graduated from the George Bird-
Columbia School of Mines (1877), where he took the sall, Engineer double degree of E.M. and C.E., and who achieved distinction as the chief engineer of the East River Bridge Company; Judge Robert Clifford, who was graduated from Columbia (1874), Judge and the Columbia Law School (1876), and who is a Robert C. magistrate of New York City.
The Cornells have been good examples of the typical Amer- ican. From the first they have been marked by mental and physical vigor, industry, patience, and practicality. Their work has been directed towards the amelioration of daily life. They have tended to those callings in which there is a visible or actual return for energy expended. They have been great inventors, organizers, politicians, manufacturers, and students. Their gospel has been that of labor, and their reward has been great. They have left a deep impression upon New York City and State, and have contributed largely to the progress and prosperity of the Commonwealth.
DEO
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Cruger
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ברשות ם לstפל פתקדמתווץ
John Cruger From a steel engraving
VII
CRUGER
HE wealth and commercial power of Holland and the apparent prosperity of the Dutch West India Company in the latter half of the seventeenth cen- tury aroused the jealousy of England, and caused many envious glances to be cast upon the colonial possessions of the Netherlands in North America and the Antilles. When, therefore, an English expedition, commanded by Colonel Richard Nicolls, a groom of the bedchamber to James, Duke of York and brother of King Charles II., conquered New Amster- dam, and made the Dutch settlements British territory, there sprang up a migration of sturdy Englishmen to the new province which has continued uninterruptedly to the present day. These immigrants were of varied types. Some were inspired by the desire to enjoy greater religious and social liberty; others were peasants and laborers sent out by enterprising noblemen and thrifty merchants; a third class was made up of men who had not succeeded at home, and wished to begin a new career in a land which seemed to offer so many opportunities to the possessors of strong minds and bodies; while a fourth class consisted of young men who believed that there was a better chance to win Fortune's favor in the sparsely peopled New World than in the over crowded Old.
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In the last-mentioned class was John Cruger, a young English- man of good birth and education, moderate means, and great abil-
John the ity. He belonged to a family which for generations
Founder had held a high rank in the kingdom, and which was represented by distinguished branches in Germany, Holland, and Denmark. The very name throws bright light upon the career of the race, it being a contraction of Cruciger, a medieval Latin term for cross-bearer, which was applied to one or more knights who were engaged and made valiant records in the Crusades.
The ancestor of the British house, Sir Philip de Cruciger, was one of the stalwart warriors who accompanied King Richard I. to Palestine. From him to John, the American founder, the pedigree runs without break or blemish. The young adventurer went into business upon his arrival at New York. He worked hard by day, and in the evening devoted himself to making acquaintances and taking part in public affairs. New York society was divided into Dutch and English, and the dividing-line between them was in many cases sharply drawn. Young Cruger, through his fine address and inherited social position, was, of course, popular among his fellow-countrymen. That he became equally popular with the Dutch demonstrates that he must have paid great atten- tion to the old Knickerbockers, have learned their ways and speech, and by degrees won their confidence and affection.
In 1712, he became an Alderman, and was returned to that position for twenty-two consecutive years. He then retired to make way for younger men, and attended to mercantile and social affairs. In 1739 he was appointed Mayor, and was retained in that high office until his death in 1744. The duties of the head of the city were not so onerous in those years as at the present time; on the other hand, they were complicated by the continual strug- gle between popular and regal rights. The Governor naturally enough endeavored to extend his prerogative, which meant an increase in fees and perquisites. The people, and especially the merchants, endeavored to reduce the official burden by every means in their power. In this peaceful battle the Alderman and Mayor sided with the people, and yet so discreet and even diplo-
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matic was his attitude that he seems never to have lost the confi- dence and good will of both parties. He married Maria, the oldest daughter of Hendrick Cuyler, of Albany, by whom he had eight children.
Two of his sons were prominent in their generation. Henry [1707], the elder, was a merchant with considerable political talent. He served in the Assembly from 1745 to 1759, Henry and was subsequently made a member of the Pro- the Councillor vincial Council. He was twice married, first to Hannah Slaughter Montgomery and second to Elizabeth Harris. By Elizabeth he had four sons and two daughters. John [1710], his John brother, was a more important character, being marked the Mayor from his boyhood by unusual ability, energy, and determination. Alderman 1754-1755, Mayor from 1756-1765, he was also the first Speaker and President of the first Colonial Assembly, and was a member of that body for seventeen years (1759-1775). He wrote the famous Declaration of Rights and Grievances adopted by the "Stamp-Act Congress " in 1765. This was the first nota- ble specimen of political literature in our colonial history, and it was discussed, praised, and denounced throughout the English possessions in America. It is said to have been the model which Thomas Jefferson employed in writing the Declaration of Inde- pendence. In the early part of 1768, he started a movement look- ing towards the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce, based upon the example of the Boards of Trade in England. His fellow- merchants took kindly to his project, and in April of that year a large and representative body met and organized what was the first mercantile society in America. In recognition of his services, as well as of his high ability, John was chosen President. In 1770, the Chamber was incorporated by means of a royal charter, which was secured by the President and a committee consisting of Isaac Low, William Walton, John Alsop, Charles McEvers, William McAdam, Sampson Simpson, Thomas Buchanan, Richard Sharpe, and John Thurman. John died unmarried in 1791.
The third generation consisted of the children of Henry, two daughters and four sons. Mary [1742] married Jacob Walton, an
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eminent merchant, from whom is descended the Walton family of to-day ; Elizabeth [1747] espoused Peter Van Schaack of Col. John Kinderhook, a wealthy land-owner. The four sons
Harris were active and influential citizens, like their father. John Harris [1737], merchant and real-estate owner, was popular in official society, and in 1773 succeeded his father as a member of the Royal Council. At the outbreak of the Revolution he was Chamberlain of New York and largely interested in trade with London. His sympathies were with the Crown, and he became an officer in the British army. During the struggle he exhibited the highest gallantry, and at times showed marked military talent; but for the policy of the British Government in confining martial honor and preferment to Englishmen born, he would have been a general. As it was, he remained colonel, even after he had won victories and displayed soldierly qualities of the highest order. He married Anne de Lancey, but had no children. Upon the closing of the war he removed to England, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Henry Il. [1739] is better known as Henry the "M. P." In 1757 he was sent to Bristol, England, and placed in a counting- Henry the house to learn commercial business. He displayed
M. P. aptitude in these matters, and in a few years had a large business of his own. In 1774 he and the great Edmund Burke were candidates for Parliament from the city of Bristol. The election was fiercely contested, and was marked by a war of broadsides, circulars, poems, and songs, in which every penny-a- liner was employed by the managers of the political parties. The quality of the effusions is exemplified by a popular song of the time, of which a stanza follows :
You good Bristol folk, An election 's no joke, But serious, indeed, is the work; Let none represent ye That do not content ye; Vote therefore for Cruger and Burke.
The watchword in Bristol was " Burke, Cruger, and Liberty." It is pleasing to know that, in spite of the poetry, the two candi-
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dates were elected by a handsome majority. His appearance in Parliament produced a deep impression. He was the first American who belonged to that great assembly, and his maiden speech was awaited with deep interest. English society at that time was almost as ignorant of its colonies as of the interior of Africa, and many Londoners who visited the House of Commons were dis- appointed when they found the American member a handsome, refined, and well-dressed gentleman, instead of an Indian in war- paint and feathers. His first speech won the respect of England. It was eloquent in character, moderate and statesmanlike in tone, and clear and concise in construction. During his term in Parlia- ment he proved himself a warm friend of the colonies, and did all he could to aid them in their struggle against what seemed hope- less odds. The year 1782 found him Mayor of the city of Bristol. In 1784 he was re-elected to the Commons, and in 1790 he declined a re-election and returned to his native city. Two years afterwards he was Senator of New York State. In the Senate he sustained the reputation he had made in Parliament. Three times did he engage in matrimony-his first wife being Miss Peach, daughter of a Bristol banker; his second, Elizabeth Blair, by whom he had six children; his third, Caroline Smith, by whom he had four children.
Telemon [1740], brother of the Parliamentarian, Telemon the was a thrifty shipping merchant. He married Henrietta Importer Cressen, by whom he had six children.
Nicholas [1743], another brother, was the head of a house which did about the largest West Indian trade of the time. In his office Alexander Hamilton began his mercantile Nicholas the clerkship. He was a warm friend of the latter in Merchant later life, as well as of Washington and the great Revolutionary leaders. In the war he contributed generously to the colonial cause. He was twice arrested and imprisoned for being a rebel. One of these arrests occurred when he was sailing out of the Delaware River for the West Indies in one of his own ships, which was overhauled and captured by a British cruiser, and taken as a prize into New York harbor. Rivington, the royal
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printer, in announcing the fact to the public stated in his bulletin that there was " discovered on board and brought up with the tobacco a portrait of Mr. Washington, intended to illuminate the parlor of a zealot, one of the above passengers, in the West Indies," and referred to Cruger as "a dangerous rebel, who ought to be taken care of," and recommended his close confinement in prison.
Fortunately for the captive, he had strong influence in New York. Henry, one brother, was in Parliament, and John Harris, his oldest brother, was a colonel in the British army. He had no trouble, therefore, in having himself made a prisoner on parole, and having his brother-in-law, Jacob Walton, made his jailer. Rivington, the printer, took umbrage at the disposition made of the rebel, and expressed his feelings in several scurrilous remarks concerning the facts in the case. At the close of the war, Nicholas was the chief man on the committee which met Wash- ington in New Jersey and accompanied him on his triumphal entry into New York. Several days afterwards he met Rivington, who approached obsequiously and offered his hand. The sturdy merchant turned red in the face, glared a second, and then, seiz- ing his old opponent, kicked him across the street. He was twice married, first to Anna de Nully, a French woman of noble birth, by whom he had six children, and second to Ann Markoe, by whom he had one daughter.
His home was "Rose Hill," on the Bowerie Road, in the neighborhood of what is now Third avenue and Twenty-fourth street.
In the fourth generation, nearly all the members were of social importance. John [1774], son of Henry II., was a citizen John the of high social and mercantile prestige at the begin- Merchant ning of the nineteenth century. He married Martha Ramsay, by whom he had nine children. He settled at Cruger's, in Westchester county. Henry Harris [1778 ?] married his cousin, Mary Cruger, and settled in Pennsylvania; Matilda Caroline [1816] married Chief Justice Thomas J. Oakley, of the Superior Court of New York; Henry Cressen [1784], son of Telemon,
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married his cousin, Henrietta Julia, and settled in New Orleans, where he founded a branch of his race. Other sons were Harris [1795], Telemon, jr. [1797], George Seymour [1801], and Melville Wood [1803]. Bertram Peter [1774], son of Nicholas, lived in England, St. Croix, W. I., and New York. He married, first, Catherine Church, and, secondly, Mary Romaine. There were eight children by his first wife, and none by the second. Henry Nicholas [1777], his brother, married his cousin Harriet, by whom he had issue; Nicholas, jr. [1779], married Ann Trezevant Hey- ward, and settled in South Carolina. They had six children.
The fifth generation was represented by Henry III. [1799], who married Susan Matilda Whetten Rathbone, by whom he had three children; Nicholas III. [1801], who married Eliza Kortright, by whom he had six children; John Peach John Peach [1812], who espoused Eliza L. C. Dyckman. They resided at Boscobel, the old manor-house at Cruger's Station, and had eight children. In this generation, the sons of Bertram Peter were Eugene [1803], John Church [1807], who married, first, Frances A. Jones, by whom he had one son, John Church and second, Euphemia White Van Rensselaer, the daughter of Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer, the last Patroon, by whom he had three children. He resided on Cruger's Island in the Hudson River. William Hyde [1721], who married, first, Mary Barnwell, by whom he had one son, and, second, Sarah J. Maxwell, by whom he had one son and one daughter. He settled at Peoria, Il1. Henry Nicholas [1800], son of Nicholas II., was graduated from Columbia (1819), studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He settled at Saugerties, where he died. He was prominent in local matters, and took a lively interest in church affairs. He married Harriet Douglass, but had no issue. Lewis Trezevant [1803] married Louisa E. Ancrum Williamson, by whom he had one son, James Hamilton. Nicholas IV. [1813] married Elizabeth Roberts, by whom he had seven children.
Alfred, a son of Henry Nicholas, became a civil engineer, and built the first railway in Cuba, running from Matanzas to Havana. He died in the latter city, unmarried.
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The sixth generation found the family well scattered over the Union, but in every branch the members were occupying posi- tions of prestige in their communities. George Ehninger [1834], son of Henry III., married Sarah E. Carter, by whom he had a son, Robert ; Kortright [1831], son of Nicholas III., married Laura A. Willis, by whom he had issue ; the Rev. Gouverneur [1839], also Rev. a son of Nicholas III., was graduated from Columbia
Gouverneur [1859], where he took the degree of A.M. He entered . the General Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1868 and ordained thereafter. He is eminent in philanthropy, being Vice-President of the Field Home, and connected with our many charities. He married R. A. Blealsley.
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